


The Running Boy

by MinstrelFourtyTwo



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinstrelFourtyTwo/pseuds/MinstrelFourtyTwo
Summary: Will and Nico share a first kiss only for Nico to shadow travel away. Will goes after him to try and make things right.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 99





	The Running Boy

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work so be gentle. Just a one shot of the two of them being difficult and cute with each other.

The kiss was brief and warm. A dry brush of contact that left Nico reeling. His hand was held by Will's and the contact was gentle. They were standing in the empty infirmary with the night falling outside and the sound of laughter from distant campers. Nico didn't even really remember how it'd happened, one minute they'd been laughing over capture the flag injuries, the next Will had been so close it had hurt not to touch. And then they had. 

Nico jerked back and his hand went to his mouth. His eyes widened.

"Sorry, did I surprise you?" Will stood opposite him, now blushing and looking embarrassed. "I thought, well you seemed, I didn't mean to…" he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You didn't mean to kiss me, did you?"

A silence built between them and Nico let go of Will's hand. "I- I don't think-" he stammered. "You don't want this."

Will frowned. "What?"

"You don't want, what you think… it's not." Nico took a step back and tried to get his breathing under control. "You don't understand, I shouldn't have let you get so…"

"Hey, it's not your fault. I'm really sorry." Will looked sick at the thought of intruding on Nico.

"That's not what I meant." Nico could feel himself begin to blush and looked away. "I shouldn't have let you think I- I liked you."

"You don't?" Will was thoroughly baffled now. "Nico, most of the time I can't get you to like anything let alone a person. If you don't like me, that's fine, I just thought for a minute…"

It hurt to let him trail off and not know how desperately Nico liked him, loved him, but it couldn't be helped. "No, it's not- it's just- well you don't understand. I can't, it wouldn't be fair to you. Oh, never mind!" Nico lost his temper, not at Will but at himself. "I need to go."

"Wait, what do you mean it wouldn't be fair?!" Will ran after the son of Hades, trying to grab his arm but Nico was too fast. He squirmed away, and before Will could do anything, the shadows had engulfed him.

Alone in his cabin, Nico sank to the floor and covered his face with his hands. He sat in silence for a long time, gently rocking himself back from the brink of despair. Tears slipped down his face. Shaking his head vigorously, the son of Hades got to his feet and began pacing the room. He swished his sword at every turn, trying to dispel the burning frustration that lay on him like a blanket of acid. He needed something to do, a quest, a mission, anything would do. For a moment, he'd thought maybe he could stay at camp, maybe he could brave normal life, but not now. He had fallen in love with the son of Apollo. Deeply and irreversibly. And he couldn't stand the pain of hiding everything again. Turning to the back wall of the cabin, he stepped into the deepest shadow yet.

Will sat on the edge of an infirmary bed feeling numb. He'd just kissed his crush and then lost him. It felt like a kick in the gut. His neck grew hot with embarrassment and he cursed himself silently. Of course Nico wouldn't like him, that way, who was he kidding? He'd been an idiot and it had cost him a good friend. He should have asked, should have read the moment better. The problem was, it had been Nico who had leant closer to him, Nico who had touched his hand with his own, and again Nico who had kept him talking for so long, as if desperate for him to stay. How had things gone so wrong? Will closed his hands into fists and his jaw set. The right thing to do, in fact the only thing to do, was to go to Nico's cabin and apologize properly. He would explain, calmly and maturely, that he'd misread the situation and it was entirely his fault for pushing too far. He valued Nico's friendship too much to let something as silly as unrequited romantic feelings get in the way. And if Nico didn’t want that, well, Will would have to respect the fact that Nico had been thoroughly repulsed by him. The thought made him hot and cold all at once. Getting to his feet, Will stepped out of the infirmary toward the Hades cabin.

Will knocked on the door but received no answer. He listened, trying to make out any sound. There was nothing. Frowning, Will tried the door knob and found it was open. That meant Nico had shadow travelled directly inside the cabin and not bothered to lock himself in; he couldn't be too upset.

"Nico? Can I come in?" Will waiter for a reply again, but nothing was forthcoming. "Nico?" He gave the door a small push and peeked through the crack. The silence in the room made him think it had to be empty. He pushed the door open wider and let himself in. Sure enough, no one was in sight. "Nico, where are you?" He whispered. Suddenly, a swirl of darkness caught his eye from the far wall. Way at the back of the cabin, against the wall Nico had once told him was built using the same wood as Charron's boat and remnants of shadow still clung to the wood. Will kicked the air. So he'd done it again, against his express warnings! He'd used underworld magic, strong underworld magic at that, to summon a path down to his father's realm. Now what was Will supposed to do?!

Taking a moment to dwell on his frustration, Will slammed his fist into the back wall. His body was propelled violently forward as his hand went straight through the wood. He gasped, yanking the limb back to him and turning his hand over to check it was still there. His fingers tingled with cold but he was otherwise unharmed. Pushing his hand back through the wall, Will waited for something to happen but nothing did. He tried the other hand, and his foot, but they both came back without damage. Taking a deep breath, Will plunged his head through the wall.

Instantly, cold air hit his face and a musty odour drifted up to him. He passed through the wall to stand at the top of a stone staircase. At the bottom, tethered to the side of a black river, bobbed a boat. Without looking back, Will forged his way down the hill. He alighted on the boat and it immediately pushed off and the oars began to row automatically.

The boat carried Will upstream to a small pier and stopped there. He got off and stood undecidedly on the worn wood. Coming here had not been one of his best ideas, and frankly he wasn't sure how to get back now, but curiosity was winning him out. Will had never been on a quest and the adventure was exciting enough to worry him of his mental state.

Making a decision, Will turned and walked up the path that lead to the top of the barren hill. He stood at the top, taking in the Underworld with his mouth open. To his right, mushroom clouds of smoke billowed over the fields of punishment and he could hear the dim screams echo up the empty hills to him. To his right, Hades' palace stretched high over the dark landscape with jutting towers and a glittering garden surrounding it. Ahead and below him, was a small arena. It was tucked out of sight in a small valley, and there were ghosts floating around it. Some sat on the spectator benches, staring dull eyed at the ground, while others drifted aimlessly in the arena floor itself. What really caught Will's eye, was the dueling pair at the center of the arena.

Unlike the lost souls around them, this pair moved with purpose and precision. Sword smashed against sword and the figures dodged and lunged with the fluid movements of dancers. The one closest to Will was a skeleton of some sort with some sort of ancient Greek armour still clinging to him. His opponent was Nico Di Angelo. He stood in the arena, poised, his eyes darting to find the next attack. Each precise move radiated confidence and his sword flew through the air like an extension of his body.

Will gaped at the pair for five whole minutes before scrambling down to catch up with Nico. Even if the demigod was still mad at him, he might help Will get out of the land of the dead.

As Will approached, the ghosts stopped and stared at him. Their eyes were colourless and empty, yet he felt an acute sense of malice coming off them. He hesitated and felt something cold touch his shoulder. Swirling around, Will was faced with the empty sockets of the Dead. He leapt back in fright and stumbled through another ghost. They advanced on him, transparent hands reaching out to claw and grasp.

"Stop!"

The ghosts froze in their tracks and turned as one to the middle of the arena. Nico stood with his sword hanging loosely at his side.

"You are dismissed."

At once, the spirits evaporated, leaving only the skeleton Nico had been dueling, who retreated to the benches.

"What are you doing here?"

Will flinched. "I came looking for you."

Nico blinked.

"What? You think I'd just let you leave like that?” Will said. “I wanted to apologize properly, and I wanted to make sure we were, well, still friends. I mean if you still want to be."

"What?" Nico's sword tip now rested in the dirt and he was frowning at Will.

"I'm really sorry, I misread the situation and it was totally my fault. The last thing I want to do is something that will make you uncomfortable or that you don't want. I was just- well it doesn't matter. The point is," Will said, the words tumbling out of him, "that I'm so, so sorry." He bit his lip and waited, but no response was forthcoming. Nico just stared at him with a slack expression. The pressure built and Will's breathing increased. "Please say something!"

"You came all this way," Nico said, "to apologize." He sheathed his sword and reached for a towel on the bench to wipe off the sweat from practice. His eyes expertly avoided Will's.

"Yes."

"You know this is the underworld, right?" Nico gestured to the skeleton sitting on the arena bench. "You know what he is, right?"

"Yes."

Nico flung the towel down in frustration and faced Will, arms folded. "Why are you here?!"

Will's eyes bugged. "I literally just told you! Do you want me to beg on my knees for forgiveness?"

"What? No!" Nico took a step back as if Will might actually do that. "I just mean…" he looked away. "You're forgiven, or whatever, no hard feelings. I mean I don't mind that you-" he pulled up short and tried to catch himself with his next words "-came down here."

Will frowned, and closed the distance between them so he was in arms reach. "Nico?"

The demigod didn't look up, he was rubbing the hilt of his sword with the pad of his thumb. "Yeah?"

"Are you, okay?"

"Yeah."  
Will took another half step closer and he could sense Nico's blood pick up the pace. "I love you, Nico Di Angelo," he whispered. "If you don't feel the same way, that's okay, I just want you to know how I feel."

It was hard to tell, but Will thought Nico's cheeks might have been redder than normal. "Y-yeah."

A silence grew between them and Nico's eyes were trained on the floor. Another half minute passed and Will let his hope die. He moved to step back, he should ask Nico how to get out of this place and then leave him in peace. That would be the good friend thing to do. He was stopped when his arm jerked him back.

Nico had caught the hem of his sleeve and held him in place. Dark hair had fallen over his face and hid his eyes.

"Nico?"

"You don't understand," Nico mumbled, his fingers still clutching onto Will's shirt. "I'm not…I'll be bad for you."

The son of Apollo caught his breath and moved an inch closer to Nico. The boy half flinched and he maintained the distance. "I don't think so."

"I will. I'm bad luck. And…and it's not r-right."

"What do you mean?"

"Us. I mean, isn’t it? Not that I don’t think you’re okay, or anything like that, I just didn’t want you think… Well if you think its okay then I guess. Do you think it’s okay?” Nico's head jerked up and the hair fell back from his eyes.

Will resisted the urge to grab Nico and kiss the bewilderment out of him. "Yes," he said, "yes of course it's okay. I love you."

Nico let his hand slowly slip into Will's and they stood still for a minute; together.

"Why did you push me away?" Will whispered.

"Because," Nico's pulse was going crazy, "because you- you shouldn't love me. I'm not- I have so many secrets. And I have done horrible things. And I'm not," his fingers trembled, "I'm not I whole."

"I know." Will squeezed his hand. "You don't need to tell me, I know."

"But- but-" Nico tried to pull away and this time Will held him back for a second. "Will, what happened to me in Tartarus…"

He couldn't seem to finish so Will pulled him closer. "We'll work it out. And if this is too fast, that's okay, but don't pull away just because you think should."

Nico bit his lip and looked up at Will. His gaze landed on his lips and his hand tightened in Will's. "I've had a crush on you since we sabotaged the onagers."

Will grinned. "I can beat that."

The son of Hades' ears turned pink and he tried not to smile. "Shut up." Leaning up, Nico kissed Will on the lips. Briefly, and without much force, but it was there. He pulled away immediately and stood back, one arm wrapped around the other as if expecting Will to be angry.

Once he could think straight, Will registered the anxious expression on Nico's face and his face broke into smiles. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he tried to hold back his delight. "Clearly I should shut up more often!"

Nico ducked his head and hurried to retrieve his jacket from the bench. He pulled it on hastily and started toward the way Will had come.

"It's this way out, I'll show you."

The boys made their way up the hill and to the pier, where the boat Will had arrived in was summoned at Nico's command. No words were exchanged on the journey back, but every time Will caught the other boy's eye, he thought he saw Nico hiding a smile.

When they were at the top of the stone staircase to the Hades Cabin, Will stopped him.

"So..."

Nico squirmed at the words. "Look, I've already explained, it's not going to work and besides, what would people at Camp think?"

"Don't care, and also don't care," Will said ticking off his fingers. "What is it going to take to get you to relax about this?"

"I am relaxed!" Nico's voice was louder than he'd intended and saw Will flinch. "No, I just mean- well I don't know!" He covered his face with his hands.

"Hey, it's okay." Will stepped closer. "Look it's actually pretty simple. Do you like me?"

Nico nodded reluctantly, still hiding his face.

"Do you want to go out with me?"

There was a silence and Nico let his hands down. He stared at the slab of stone beneath his feet. "I think I love you," he said softly, "but it's complicated."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not from…" Nico hesitated and chose his next words carefully, "around here. Where I'm from, it's not okay to be, well, queer," he stumbled over the word. "It's dirty, and a sin, and if they catch you…" Nico shuddered.

Will's face softened. "But it's not like that here. Hey, all my siblings know I'm gay and it's totally fine. Having a boyfriend wouldn't make any difference, especially if it's you, they like you."

"I doubt that." Nico sighed and rubbed his face. "Maybe…maybe we could do this. But there have to be rules." He glared sternly at Will.

"Of course, what do you suggest?"

"I don't know!" Nico's shoulders sagged and he moved to rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry, this isn't how you wanted it. I'm making this difficult."

He sounded so tired and lost that Will couldn't stop himself stepping forward and taking Nico's hand again. He pulled him gently forward and Nico didn't resist, even when his head was laid on Will's shoulder and his arms were around him. "Okay, how about this; rule number one is we tell each other how we feel, yes? If you're uncomfortable with something, you just say and we'll make sure it doesn't happen."

Nico made a small affirmative sound and his forehead pressed against Will's neck.

"Rule number two, no shadow traveling out of a conversation to avoid me." Will poked the boy in the ribs gently and Nico made a grumpy sound but no protest. "Other rules can be; no sex until we're like a lot older," Nico's body tensed against him and Will stroked his back soothingly. "And kissing and stuff we do when no one is looking. That can change when you want but this is just for now. And, we tell people when you're ready to tell people. How does that sound?"

The tension had left Nico and Will felt him nod. "I like that."

"Come on then," Will took Nico's hand and lead him back through the wall. They arrived back in the Hades cabin and it was still night outside.

"Will?"

He turned back to Nico.

“Are you're sure about this?"

"Very sure." Will leaned down and kissed Nico's cheek. The boy blushed and drew closer to him again.

"Okay. You should, um, probably head back to your cabin. It's late."

"Alright." Will walked to the door and Nico followed. He turned in the entrance and pulled Nico to him. This time, the son of Hades didn't pull away and Will kissed him full and long. Will felt Nico shudder and then press close to him, as if desperate to absorb the touch into himself.

After a minute, it was Will's turn to gently extricate himself. He stroked Nico's face. "You should go to bed too, doctor's orders."

Nico grinned and nodded, not moving away until Will did. "Goodnight."

Will shut the door behind him and silently pumped his fist in triumph. He hadn't ruined everything, in fact things were now way better than he could have hoped for. On the way back to his cabin, Will had to stop himself from whistling.


End file.
